Affection/Seven
SEVEN ~ ASHPAW waiting and waiting for the truth to be found I realized how fascinating love really was - I was spellbound Each day that passed from that day onwards seemed to be slower than the day before. That sickening feeling in my belly never seemed to fade, and it left me doubting whether it was real or fake. However, the days still rolled by, no matter how slow it seemed they were. It took a while, but eventually ten sunrises passed since the meeting with Shadestar. It was eleven, if you counted the day before. That meant that there was just three days until - if that threat was indeed true - that the Darkness would attack - and the opinion of the Clan hadn't changed at all since then. I thought that we were doomed for sure. That morning, I was called up onto a border patrol. Naturally, my mentor was on the patrol, as well as a warrior called Wishfire and her apprentice, Stormpaw. Duskflame, a senior warrior, was leading the patrol, and the dark ginger she-cat was in no mood to fuss over the patrol, it seemed, judging by her actions. "We're going to look at the far border," Duskflame ordered, making Stormpaw jump and widen his eyes as the patrol headed out of camp. At this, I watched as Wishfire scowled at the gray-and-black apprentice for a moment, and I secretly agreed with her. ...Stormpaw's been very jumpy for the last moon, I have no idea why. The tom, even in his normal state, was very unlike Cheetahpaw, who happened to be his sister. He shied away, and preferred his own compant: but he wasn't jumpy. Defintely not "Firwillow reported rogue scent," Duskflame went on, as they started to make their way through the Clan's forest territory, towards the border. "She wants us to look out for any more. We don't want rogues crossing into BurnClan territory and causing havoc." Stormpaw jumped again, and this time I scowled at him: he was acting very oddly, and I wondered why. However, away from Stormpaw, I couldn't help but feel a little worried at the mention of rogue scent - like every Clan cat - but this was different. A possibility - although I guessed it would be slim - popped up in my head: Ashpaw, what if this is the Darkness? It could be the chance for the rest of your Clanmates to believe you for once. I shook myself, doubting my own thoughts. It's probably a passing rogue... I then drifted off from that thought, back to that fateful day, with Cheetahpaw and the Darkness cats... ...and when I came across the spotted she-cat's name in my mind, for the first time in my life, I felt a shiver of affection for the young cat tingle down my spine at the thought. She truly was amazing. Why hadn't I realized it earlier? ~ ~ We eventually reached the border, after a fairly decent trek through the gradually more dense forest. I shivered as we arrived, even though it wasn't cold. Thoughts about Stormpaw, Cheetahpaw, and the Darkness had plagued me throughout the journey, and they had made me feel uncomfortable, and a little bit jumpy. I just wanted to relax. I'd hardly felt that emotion in the past half-moon. However, I just found it too hard to, and it was frustrating for me. Very frustrating. I watched as Duskflame and Wishfire both approached the border warily. I followed afterwards with my mentor, Leopardbreeze keeping on my heels. Finally, Stormpaw trailed behind, looking down at the ground as Wishfire stared at him. "Cheer up, Stormpaw, don't look so down." Stormpaw jumped, but he still edged forward. Wishfire gave a reluctant sigh, and I saw the pale gray she-cat whisper something into Leopardbreeze's ear, both she-cats shaking their heads as Duskflame started looked for scents, her tail high up in the air. Deciding that I might as well help, I also tasted the air. It smelt mainly of Clan, but... there smelt like something else. I couldn't quite put my paw on it. It was... "...Yeah, there's some rogue scent," I heard Duskflame growl from in front of me, and I knew at once that this was the answer that I was looking for. "Firwillow never lies... come on, let's track it, I can smell some over here that's in our territory. Come on, he couldn't have gone too far." Rogue scents.' My mind was buzzing at the sound of it, as I followed the patrol. Rogue scents. I secretly wondered if it was the Darkness, but I decided against it. The scent gradually seemed to get stronger and stronger, ever so gradually. The whole patrol could sense it: especially Stormpaw, who looked as though at any moment he was going to keel over in shock. We rounded one last corner, to another edge of the border - and we were in for a surprise. A BurnClan hunting patrol was near us, their tails high. I could see Snowfall, Snowfall's sister Softfeather, and Redsky - who was without her apprentice on this occasion - all cornered to one side. They looked fearful as they saw us, and shot a look at us, indicating that they needed help. Three rogues were also there. Two were cornering the patrol off to the side, giving the same looks to these cats that Trazo, Garra, and Auro had given Cheetahpaw and I those days ago. A third cat, a muscular tabby, was holding down a cat nearby, and I felt myself gasping in shock as I spotted the cat's golden spotted pelt. It was Cheetahpaw. thinking things over can give you a clear mind 'when it comes to issues - moreover,' ''it can help when you're feeling confined